The Blue Room

 

Trevor Deeds knew his history, that much was for sure. McConkey’s Ferry, where George Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas Eve 1776, to surprise the Hessian mercenaries celebrating the holiday, was a good example of that knowledge. As the Hessians became deep in their cups, Washington’s men quietly ferried across the river, attacking at dawn, and waking the superior fighting machine from their alcohol induced slumber. The lesson was not lost on Trevor.

Trevor’s job at Hangar 18 in Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio provided him – after twenty two years of service – with intimate knowledge of the facility and close ties with many people who worked there, both civilian and military. He had seen a fleeting image inside the Blue Room, a top secret off-limits area restricted to military personnel. It was rumored that the Blue Room contained the debris from the July 8,1947 U.F.O. crash site in Roswell, New Mexico, as well as the lifeless bodies of the mangled alien crew.

On Christmas Eve 2019 while Trevor moved around the pristine research area, he could tell that something was different as the soldiers were unusually friendly and talkative, having received a big grin from one grumpy, irritable old soldier who never cracked a smile. As Trevor talked to Corporal Smith outside The Blue Room his inquisitiveness burned to see what was inside.

“How do you like your job here Trevor?” asked the Corporal.

“I like it just fine Sir,” Trevor answered.

“Yes, it is not a bad place to work although all the military protocols and procedures can be daunting at times,” mused the Corporal, slurring his speech. The soldier then took a slim flask from his pocket taking a swig and offered it to Trevor, who refused the offer.

Trevor slid his foot across the smooth stone floor nervously as the smell of his floor cleaning chemicals mixed with the odor of the liquor creating a most unpleasant scent.

“Would you like to take a peek inside the Room?” inquired Corporal Smith.

“Very much Sir!” said Trevor with excitement in his voice.

“Ok but I will have to swear you to s…s…secrecy if I let you in Trevor.” said the Corporal slurring his speech in his increasingly inebriated state.

“Yes, Sir you can count on me!”

“All right then!” said the Corporal installing secret codes as the door silently opened with a swishing noise.

“Go take a look Trevor “, said the officer beginning to get drowsy,”But don’t touch anything!”

Trevor walked into the room after passing through the outer chamber and donning a sterile suit. The interior of the room had a bluish glow and the walls were of a polished stainless steel. Thick glass panels in the walls revealed debris from the crash site.and in one area cryogenic compartments contained the remains of the alien crew members laid out on steel slabs, whose anatomy were being studied.

“Merry Christmas!” said a voice behind Trevor. 

Merry Chr….” said Trevor his voice trailing off as he turned around to face an Alien being holding a Martini glass.

“They died in the crash, but I’m sure you have already heard the story”, said the alien.           

“Yes, I know,” in an uneasy, nervous voice. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. Relax Trevor I’m not going to hurt you”, said the Alien.

“You can call me Cactus. The soldiers and scientists gave up long ago on trying to pronounce my name. I was found impaled on a cactus that the soldiers removed me from in the desert, it saved my life from the force of the impact but it was extremely painful and I almost died from my wounds. I still have ghost pains from that event to this day.”

Cactus stood about four and a half feet tall, with hairless grey skin and huge eyes like Audrey Hepburn without eyelashes. He was skinny and sinewy with little muscle tone and a largish head. He was definitely not GQ material, at least not the earthbound edition. Two small holes served as nostrils and a slit was all he had for a mouth. His mode of communication was twofold as he had learned to speak English but also communicated telepathically, synthesizing both forms of communication.

“Trevor, do you want to take a ride on the ship that the engineers have constructed based on the debris from my craft? It is primitive but still gets you where you want to go.”

“Sure!” said Trevor.

“Ok let’s go! “exclaimed Cactus.

In a separate area a metallic saucer hovered a foot off the ground. Trevor and the humanoid entered the vehicle, Cactus opened a retractable door in the ceiling by waving his hand and then they disappeared in a flash as the sleeping Corporal entered R.I.M. Stage.They shot through Earth’s atmosphere and passed through the planets like a Q ball flying around a billiard table after the break. Leaving the solar system behind, they streaked into the black void of interstellar space, arriving momentarily at Alpha Centauri and after a quick loop around the massive star, shot on to the Orion Nebula, that stellar nursery, where hundreds of new stars were being born. For the major attractions they visited Rigel that stunning blue sapphire which was their first destination. Next, they streaked on like a slippery steel ball in a pinball machine, and on to the scarlet supergiant Betelgeuse followed by Bellatrix and Saipan, finishing up with Sirius the Dog Star quite busy, happily trailing Orion the Hunter through the night sky. As they toured the heavens Cactus told Trevor the earthly names of each star. He greedily consumed this knowledge. Although they were traveling at many times the speed of light Cactus’s martini never spilled a drop. Soon the alien realized that they needed to get back to Earth before their disappearance was detected and they turned home entering the roof door and were back in the Blue Room.         

Upon arrival they noticed that something had changed as objects had been moved around. There were dispensers of something called Purell, a hand sanitizer, and in the distance, soldiers were all wearing face masks. Alarms and sirens were ringing and at a newly installed desk a calendar on the wall read January, 2021!

Cactus realized his mistake of having forgotten that this ship did not make the necessary automatic calculations to return in the proper space time. The humans had made this a manual calculation!

“Hurry back into the saucer!” yelled Cactus.

The two partners jumped into the saucer and took off in a flash as Cactus explained that traveling at the speed of light slowed down time on the ship. They had been gone for half an hour but two years had passed on Earth! Cactus, on his third Martini, had forgotten to make the necessary calculations before entry to sub- light speed. They shot out to the Oort Cloud then headed back having made the necessary calculations. Cactus sighed in relief as he began to feel the effects of his first alcoholic hangover, swearing never to drink again.

“I’ve set time to return us to the minute before Corporal Smith offered you a look inside the Blue Room. Don’t take him up on his offer. I will allow you to retain your memories of our excursion but you must never mention it to anyone. It would be a nice gesture to get a cup of black coffee for the Corporal.”

After saying goodbye to Cactus, Trevor found himself talking to Corporal Smith.

“Corporal Smith can I get you a cup of black coffee? You look a little tired”

“Thank you, Trevor, if you don’t mind, I could use it.”

 

Jim

April 2021